One of the things you must do in Istanbul is to take a Bosphorus Cruise. This unique experience will let you see both Asian and European shores of Bosphorus and Istanbul’s magestic silhouette from a fantastic angle.
But which Bosphorus Cruise you should take? You will be flooded with many cruise operators in Istanbul. Most of these are private Bosphorus Cruises and they are usually disappointingly short, expensive tours on small boats. The best Bosphorus Cruises in Istanbul are those 2 tours operated by Istanbul’s Sehir Hatlari: 4 Seasons Bosphorus Tours.
Sehir Hatlari operates 2 Bosphorus Cruises: Full Bosphorus Cruise and Short Bosphorus Tour.
Full Bosphorus Cruise takes 6 hours. It starts from Eminonu Terminal ( immediately east of the Galata Bridge) and stops in Besiktas, Kanlica, Sariyer, Rumeli Kavagi and then reaches to Anadolu Kavagi which is at the northern entrance of Bosphorus to the Black Sea. The Istanbul liner (large conventional ferry boats unique to Istanbul) will stop here several hours before sailing back to Eminonu.
This tour is very popular among foreigners and locals so be there early for the queue. In the high season there are 3 departures per day. The cost of Full Bosphorus Cruise is 25 TL per person.
Here is Full Bosphorus Cruise Timetable. As we have written it is a long 6 hour tour but a very good one.
If you do not have time for the long one there is also a Short Bosphorus Tour. This is a 2 hours tour which also departs from Eminonu and after stopping at Ortakoy returns from Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge. This tour basically covers southern Bosphorus, which hosts almost all of Istanbul’s famous historic artifacts.
Short Bosphorus Tour is 10 TL per person and here is the time table.
Below, you can see the Sehir Hatlari Bosphorus cruises on the map.
If you cannot take these 2 tours there is a private company named TurYol which operates 1.5 hour Bosphorus Cruises which will cost 12 TL. This tours are more frequent and they return from Fatih Bridge. They are transportation only so no tour guide. If you would like to go for private Bosphorus tours, it is better to buy it as a part of a full-day Istanbul tour package.
There is also a night cruise in Bosphorus by Sehir Hatlari but this is a summer only cruise and only operates on Saturdays. Named Moonlight Cruise (Mehtap Gezisi) the boat departs from Bostanci and visits Kadıköy-Eminönü-Üsküdar-Beşiktaş-Rumeli Kavağı and stops over Anadolu Kavağı for 2 hours. Highly recommended if you can catch one because Bosphorus and Istanbul looks much different in the nights.
But which Bosphorus Cruise you should take? You will be flooded with many cruise operators in Istanbul. Most of these are private Bosphorus Cruises and they are usually disappointingly short, expensive tours on small boats. The best Bosphorus Cruises in Istanbul are those 2 tours operated by Istanbul’s Sehir Hatlari: 4 Seasons Bosphorus Tours.
Sehir Hatlari operates 2 Bosphorus Cruises: Full Bosphorus Cruise and Short Bosphorus Tour.
Full Bosphorus Cruise takes 6 hours. It starts from Eminonu Terminal ( immediately east of the Galata Bridge) and stops in Besiktas, Kanlica, Sariyer, Rumeli Kavagi and then reaches to Anadolu Kavagi which is at the northern entrance of Bosphorus to the Black Sea. The Istanbul liner (large conventional ferry boats unique to Istanbul) will stop here several hours before sailing back to Eminonu.
This tour is very popular among foreigners and locals so be there early for the queue. In the high season there are 3 departures per day. The cost of Full Bosphorus Cruise is 25 TL per person.
Here is Full Bosphorus Cruise Timetable. As we have written it is a long 6 hour tour but a very good one.
If you do not have time for the long one there is also a Short Bosphorus Tour. This is a 2 hours tour which also departs from Eminonu and after stopping at Ortakoy returns from Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge. This tour basically covers southern Bosphorus, which hosts almost all of Istanbul’s famous historic artifacts.
Short Bosphorus Tour is 10 TL per person and here is the time table.
Below, you can see the Sehir Hatlari Bosphorus cruises on the map.
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| Istanbul Sehir Hatlari Bosphorus cruises map |
There is also a night cruise in Bosphorus by Sehir Hatlari but this is a summer only cruise and only operates on Saturdays. Named Moonlight Cruise (Mehtap Gezisi) the boat departs from Bostanci and visits Kadıköy-Eminönü-Üsküdar-Beşiktaş-Rumeli Kavağı and stops over Anadolu Kavağı for 2 hours. Highly recommended if you can catch one because Bosphorus and Istanbul looks much different in the nights.
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